Toilet flush valve



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 23, 1948 INVENTOR.

' wiwm/ Oct. 16, 1951 J. 5. JUDELL TOILET FLUSH VALVE Filed June 23, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 16, 1951 TOILET FLUSH VALVE Julius s. Judell, Shorewood, Wis, assignor to Milwaukee Flush Valve 00., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application June 23,1948, Serial No. 34,633

4 Claims.

jectionable either because they are excessively,

noisy in operation, or because they are too complicated and difilcult to repair, or because they cannot be conveniently and positively regulated and adjusted to produce proper and rapid flow of flushing liquids, or because they quickly become leaky and messy, or because parts thereof are too frail to withstand normal installation and use for prolonged periods of time, or because they do not comply with plumbing codes and the like.

The prior ball cocks have therefore been a constant source of annoyance to plumbers and users for one or more of the above mentioned reasons as well as for others, especially when installed in homes and other places where the requirements for silence and safety are imperative and the services of expert mechanics are not always available.

It is therefore an important object of my present invention to provide an improved ball cock assemblage for toilets, which obviates all of the above specified objectionable features, and which may be readily installed and maintained in effec--.

tive operation with minimum attention.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a flush valve assemblage which is indeed exceedingly quiet in operation, and which embodies only a few simple but durable parts adapted to be conveniently adjusted so as to insure silent functioning in spite of variable conditions of supply liquid pressure.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a simplified ball cock unit capable of being installed in various types and styles of flush tanks without difficulty, and which may be readily regulated to vary the quantity and rate of flow of the liquid supply by means of simple and easily manipulable adjusting mechanism.

Still another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved control valve assembly for toilet flush tanks, wherein the liquid supply may be shut off within the assemblage and in which annoying leakage and dripping of liquid is effectively eliminated, with the aid of simple and long lasting valves. v

An additional important object of my invention is to provide a toilet flush valve unit which is sturdily constructed to resist breakage of parts, and which complies withall known plumbing codes and requirements, especially as to silence, safety and back siphoning of liquid.

Another important object of my present invention is to provide a greatly improvedball cock assemblage adapted to be manufactured and sold at moderate cost, and which may be installed and. maintained in efficient operating condition by a novice and with the aid of ordinary tools.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the several features constituting the present improvement, and of the construction and operation of a typical ball cock embodying the same, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views. 1

Fig. 1 is a side view of one of theimproved float actuated ball cock units showing the same associated with fragments of-the liquid supply and overflow pipes, and in the act of delivering full streams of liquid to the flush tank and overflow;

Fig. 2 is another side view of the same unit,

showing the parts in position just prior tofinal interruption of the supply liquid flow; T

Fig. 3 is a rear and end perspective view of one of the improved flush valve units installedwitlrina flush tank and also showing the tank discharge valve associated with the tank bottom;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the liquid supply valve casing of the ball cock unit, showing both valves partially open; and

Fig. 5 is a likewise enlarged partial transverse section through the valve casing and associated parts, the section having been taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. t

While the features of the present improvement have been shown herein as applied to a float actuated unit supported by an upright pressure liquid supply pipe located within a flush tank, it is not my desire to unnecessarily limit the scope or utility of these improved features by virtue of this restricted embodiment; and it is also contemplated that specific descriptive terms, used 3 herein be given the broadest possible interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawings, the typical improved ball cock assemblage shown, comprises in general. a unitary main body or valve casing 1 having a lower supply liquid inlet opening 8 and an upper liquid outlet opening 9 disposed on opposite sides of a partition I'll which divides the easing into chambers l2 and is provided with a central port and valve seat l3; a manually adjustable supply liquid shut-off valve I 5 associated with the casing I in alinement with the inlet opening 8 and extending through the chamber II; a spout fitting or connection It swingably adjustably associated at one end with the casing at the outlet opening 9, and having at its opposite end a downwardly directed discharge nozzle provided with a set of flow silencing or hushing screens l8 while its medial portion is provided with an overflow pipe refill tube l9; an automatically operable plunger valve slidable within a horizontal bore 2| formed in the casing 1 in alinement with the central partition opening, and having a valve disk 22 embedded in its inner end and cooperating with the seat I3 while its outer end is provided with a flat head 24; a valve actuating lever 25 having one end swingably suspended from the casing l by a pivot 26 and provided with an adjusting screw 21 which is cooperable with the valve head 24, while its opposite swinging end has a buoyant float 28 secured thereto; and means carried by the medial portion of the lever 25 and coacting with the valve casing, for retarding the valve closing motion of the float 28 and lever 25 so as to augment the buoyancy of the float at a predetermined moment in order to insure quick and positive closing of the valve 20.

The unitary main casing I may be formed of any durable corrosion resistant metal, and the supply inlet opening 8 is internally threaded for screw thread attachment to the upper extremity of an upright fresh liquid supply pipe 30, while the outlet opening 9 is likewise internally threaded for screw thread attachment of the spout I6 thereto. obviously permit the casing l and the various elements associated therewith to be swung for adjustment purposes in a horizontal plane about the central axis, of the fixed liquid supply pipe 30, and will also permit the spout l6 to be likewise adjusted relative to the casing about the central axis of the opening 9 so as to vary the positions of the liquid jets 3|, 32 normally emanating from the nozzle l1 and tube |9 when the unit is in action, see Figs. 1 and 2. The main casing is also provided with a threaded hole 33 located in axial alinement with the inlet opening 8 and supply pipe and within which the shut-oil valve I5 is manually adjustable so as to either cut off the fresh liquid supply completely, or to throttle this supply and reduce the pressure thereof; and the valve |5 may be thus adjusted with the aid of an ordinary screw driver, and may be provided with a packing or sealing gland 34 in order to prevent undesirable leakage when the valve I5 is open and the valve 20 is closed, see Figs. 4 and 5.

The partition I!) is preferably formed integral with the casing l, and the valve seat l3 and bore 2| should be machined to insure accurate cooperation of the automatic valve 20 with its seat I3; and the renewable valve disk 22 may be formed of hard rubber, fibre or other suitable material, and is snugly fitted within a slightly tapered inner end recess in the cylindrical valve These screw thread attachments will body. If so desired, this seating disk 22 may be additionally attached to the valve 20 with the aid of a central screw in a well known manner, but such additional fastening is optional. The plunger valve 20 should snugly but slidably coact with the bore 2| so as to avoid excessive leakage, but since the bore 2| is disposed at the low pressure side of the valve 20 and the spout I6 is always in open communication with the flush tank, very little leakage will ever occur past the valve body. The delivery nozzle I1 is detachably secured as by screw threads, to the swinging end of the spout I6, and the silencer screens l8 are spaced apart by means of washers 36 and are normally held in place by the nozzle I! but are readily accessible for inspection upon release of this nozzle, see Fig. 5. The screw 2'! aifords simple means for varying the opening movement of the valve 20, and this screw is preferably provided with a lock nut 34'.

The overflow pipe refill tube H] which projects laterally away from the swing spout |6 may either be fixedly or adjustably secured to this spout with the aid of a clampin nut 35 so as to permit accurate alinement of the jet 32 with the upright overflow pipe 31 disposed within the flush tank and with the lower end of which the main ball discharge valve or plug 38 is associated, see Fig. 3. The lower extremities of the fresh liquid supply pipe 30 and of the overflow pipe 31 are normally secured and sealed relative to the flush tank bottom 4|! to a well known manner; and in cases where the supply pipe 39 is furnished as part of the improved ball cock unit, the height of this pipe 36 should be such that the lower extremit of the liquid delivery nozzle will finally be disposed well above the upper extremity of the overflow pipe 31 in order to positively prevent back-siphonin of liquid from the flush tank into other parts of the same plumbing system even when the valves I5, 20 are wide open and the liquid supply pressure is exceptionally high. The lower extremity of the fresh liquid supply pipe 30 should therefore be vertically adjustably attached to the tank bottom 40 as by nuts 4| in order to permit proper disposition of the ball cock unit at a height sufficient to comply with anti-siphon codes, in all cases,

and the discharge end of the refill tube I! should always be located above the outlet end of the nozzle IT.

The improved means associated with the float lever 25 and with the casing of the unit, for retarding the closing motion of the float 28 so as to augment the buoyancy thereof sufliciently to insure rapid and positive closing of the valve 20, comprises an auxiliary lever 43 having one end pivotally attached to the float lever 25 near the pivot 26, by means of a pin 44, while its opposite swinging end carries a weight 45 and its medial portion is provided with a tapered abutment 46; and a rod 4'! having a looped end 46 loosely embracing the main lever 25 and cooperable with the abutment 46 While its opposite end is bent laterally to form a pivot 49 coacting with a fixed rod 50 secured to and depending from the main casing l. The abutment 46 is preferably adjustable toward and away from the axis of swing of the weighted lever 43, and while such adjustment may be accomplished invarious ways, the simple adjusting means shown consists of a series of holes 5| formed in the pivoted end of the lever 43 and with any of which the pivot pin 44 may be caused to cooperate. The main float lever 25 is also preferably provided with a stop lug 52 whichis cooperable with the I ing of the toilet is being or has been effected by manual lifting of the plug 38 in the usual manner, fresh liquid will initially be admitted to the tank from the nozzle I! and into the overflow pipe 31 from the refill tube IS in the form of full jets 3|, 32 as illustrated in Fig. 1, whenever the plug 38 is elevated and for sometime after it has again been seated. As the liquid 53 riseswithin the tank, it engages and lifts the float 28 there- 'by swinging the levers 25, 43 upwardly about the pivot 26, and thus causing the screw 21 to partially close the automatic valve 20. The ascending float lever 25 eventually causes the more abrupt taper'of the abutment 46 to engage the fixed rod loop 48, thereby retarding the upward motion of the float 28 and lifting the auxiliary weighted lever 43 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The closing motion of the valve 20 will then be momentarily arrested and the sizes of the jets 3|, 32 emanating from the nozzle l1 and refill tube l 9 will be reduced as shown; and when the buoyancy of the retarded float 28 has been sufliciently augmented, the abutment 46 will snap past the loop 48 and the lever 25 will be swung upwardly very rapidly to thereby cause the screw 21 to quickly and positively close the valve 20 and to thus entirely cut oil the flow and eliminate the jetsv 3|, 32. Subsequent flushing of the toilet will causethe less abrupt taper of the abutment 46 to ride over the stationary rod loop 48 and the weight 45 will thereafter cause the lever 43 to drop into parallelism withthe float lever 25, and the downward swinging motion of the latter and of the float 28 will be arrested by engagement of the lu 52 with the fixed valve casing 1.

- This functioning of the improved mechanism is entirely automatic and byproperly adiusting the position of the control valve IS with the aid of a screw driver to conform with the available liquid supply pressure, and by also manually adjusting the screw 21 to vary the extent of opening and the time of closing of the flow regulating valve 20, any desired rate and degree of filling of the tank may be eflected. The exact moment of final complete and positive closing of the regulating valve 28 so as to eliminate subsequent leakage and dripping, may be obtained by adjusting the abutment 46 toward and away from the pivotal axis of the lever 43 with the aid of the pin 44 and holes 5|, and the screens l8 cooperate with the diminishing main jet 3| to effectively silence the admitted liquid while the location of the nozzle l1 and refill tube I9 positively prevents back siphoning of liquid through the ball cock. When installing the improved unit, the casing 1 may be readily disposed at the proper height relative to the overflow pipe 31 so as to properly position the spout l6 as to elevation, and this spout may be subsequently angularly adjusted so as to cause the jet 3| to be delivered at the proper locality within the flush tank, while the outlet end of the tube (9 may also be properly located with respect to the overflow pipe 31 with the aid of the adjusting nut 35 without necessarily bending this refill tube. The main casing I may also be readily angularly adjusted relative to its supporting pipe 30 so as to permit the float 28 to swing freely;

and when proper adjustment of the valve actuating screw 21 has been accomplished, this screw may be locked in adjusted position with the aid of thenu't'34'; All of these various adjustments may be conveniently and quickly effected and when properly made, will insure silent, safe and most eflicient operation of the unit for an indefinite period of time.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction'and operation of my improved ball cock assemblage, it will be apparent that-I have in fact provided a unit which besides being simple, compact and durable in constructionp'is also highly efiicient in operation and flexible in its adaptations so as to meet various operating conditions The improved assembly besides filling the flush tank quickly and quietly regardless of the available supply pressure, meets various plumbing code requirements as to safety. It is unnecessary with the improved mechanism-to bend or otherwise distort parts in order to obtain proper installation, and the degree of filling of the flush tank may be accurately predetermined with the aid of the micrometer adjustment afforded by the Valve actuating screw 21 which is at all times readily accessible for manipulation. The shut-ofi" valve 15 associated directly with the unit may be adjustedat any time so as to control the liquid pressure within the casing I, and when this valve I5 is closed the supply of liquid is cut ofi and the piston valve 20 may then be quickly removed from the casing bore 2| by merelyremoving the pivot 26 and withdrawing the float lever '25. The valve disk 22 may then be quickly replaced; and the life-of these disks 22 is augmented to a maximum by the positive and quick seating afiorded by the float retarding abutment 46. As previously indicated, the float retarding mechanism is an extremely important feature of this invention, as it causes the valve 20 to finall close with great rapidity after the flow hasbeen initially throttled, and this rapid closing of the valve 22 eliminates subsequent noisy leakage and dripping while also insuring accurate and "equa-lsubsequent tank fillings. It has'been found that the height of fill may be accurately predetermined with the aid of the adjustable abutment 46 so as to insure efiicient flushing with least waste of flushing liquid 53, and it has also been found that the float buoyancy augmenting effect may be secured by efi'ecting adjustment of the abutment 46 in various ways. The simplicity of the various parts of the improved mechanism shown, however, permit manufacture and sale of these flush valve units at moderate cost, which have proven highly efficient and satisfactory in every respect, in actual use.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention-to the exact details of construction and operation of the typical ball cock unit herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A toilet flush valve assemblage comprising, a fixed casing having therein a valve for controlling the delivery of liquid to the flush tank, a float adapted to ride upon the rising liquid in the tank to close said valve and being swingably connected to said casing by a single rigid lever, an auxiliary lever pivotally suspended from said float lever to swing downwardly toward the latter and having an abutment thereon constantly biased downwardly toward but movable upwardly away irom the float lever, and an element having one end pivotally attached to said casing and an opposite end slidable along said float lever beneath said auxiliary lever and cooperable with said abutment to momentarily arrest the valve closing motion of the float lever and to subsequently efiect final closing of the valve with a snap action by moving the abutment upwardly away from said float lever.

2. A toilet flush valve assemblage comprising, a fixed casing having therein a valve for controlling the delivery of liquid to the flush tank, a float adapted to ride upon the rising liquid in the tank to close said valve and being swingably connected to said casing by a rigid float lever, an, auxiliary lever having one end pivotally attached to said float lever while its opposite swinging end is weighted and its medial portion is provided with an abutment which is biased to swing by gravity toward said float lever, and an element having one end pivotally attached to said casing and its opposite end confined between and slidable along said levers and coopera'ble with said abutment to momentarily arrest the upward swinging motion of the float lever and to subsequently lift the auxiliary lever and the abutment away from said opposite element end to effect final closing of said valve with a snap action.

3, A toilet flush valve assemblage comprising, a fixed casing having therein a valve for controlling the delivery of liquid to the flush tank, a float adapted to ride upon the rising liquid in the tank to close said valve and being swingably connected to said casing by a rigid float lever, an auxiliary lever carried by and swingable upwardly simultaneously with said float lever and having one end pivotally attached to the float lever while its opposite end is weighted and its medial portion is provided with a tapered abutment biased to swing by gravity toward the float lever, and an element having one end pivot!- ally attached to said casing and its opposite end provided with a loop confined between and mov able along said levers and engagea-ble with the taper of said abutment to momentarily arrest the valve closing motion of the float lever and to thereafter suddenly lift the abutment over the loop to effect final closing of the valve with a snap action.

4. A toilet flush valve assemblage comprising, a fixed casing having therein a valve for controlling the delivery of liquid to the flush tank, a float adapted to ride upon the rising liquid in the tank to close said valve and being swingably connected to said casing by a, rigid float lever, an auxiliary lever carried by and swingable upwardly simultaneously with said float lever and having one end pivotally attached to the float lever while its opposite end is weighted and its medial portion is provided with a tapered abutment biased to swing by gravity toward the float lever, an element having one end pivotally attached to said casing and its opposite end provided with a loop confined between and movable along said levers and engageable with the taper of said abutment to momentarily arrest the valve closing motion of the float lever and to thereafter suddenly lift the abutment over the loop to effect final closing of the valve with a snap action, and means for effecting adjustment of said levers to vary the position of said abutment relative to said float lever.

JULIUS S. JUDELL.

REFERENCES orrEn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Date 

